BarCampDC
BarCamp DC, August 2007. Photo credit Jason Garber.
This weekend, j3 and I attended the [first?] BarCamp held in DC. Met some super cool people, learned some very useful things (namely, at the: Google Analytics session, the widget session a la Clearspring and the Grids/systems session), and watched a number of things go flying over my head (e.g., Ruby on Rails… great buzz phrase, but don’t think I will be implementing it anytime soon).
j3 made some excellent points during discussion and in a co-hosted session on Graphic Deisgn/User Experience (I think??). Also, our now-mutual friend Nick O’Neill (www.thewebpreneur.com and www.allfacebook.com) presented on Facebook apps. Very cutting edge stuff.
For some reason, I thought it would only be for a few hours but was surprised to find out that it went well into the evening. Knowing now what I didn’t know then, I would have opted for some more comfortable shoes
There were quite a few people “hating” (as the kids say) on the old media when it comes to the way that they have embraced/tried to embrace/not embraced new media and new technologies. Examples included Mobile technology and Facebook apps. I countered by pointing to outlets like Washington Post and CNN — both of whom are soliciting “user generated” reports for local/micro-niche topics (akin to the concept of “citizen journalists” — for more on this topic, check out Scott Gant’s book We’re All Journalists Now). A great example would be CNN’s “I-Reporters.” Specific example: coverage of the bridge collapse in Minnesota.
All and all… well worth it and something we all need more of here in DC!
Looking back and per the story mid-page above: I remember the shoes I was wearing, though cutoff in the above photo: they were pink suede, open-toed 3 inch heels [note from August 4, 2025]. Photo credit: Jason Garber
Author’s notes:
Originally posted on my old WordPress blog, now available via the Wayback Machine: BarcampDC [August 13, 2007]
Going back through the archives, I realize now that I mislabeled the first photo as being from Facebook Developer’s Garage in a post for FWA in 2016. It’s BarCamp, silly!
Check out the reviews under the Amazon link I pointed to for the Scott Gant book We’re All Journalists Now - spicy!
A few posts / collections on BarCamp DC 2007 from old colleagues with URLs that are still alive:
https://caseysoftware.com/blog/barcampdc-2007-part-1
https://www.technotheory.com/2007/08/barcampdc-a-new-era-in-dcs-tech-community/
https://www.flickr.com/groups/barcampdc/pool/
